He Trots the Air

Marilyn M. Fisher

American Book Publishing

978-1-58982-794-3

268 pages

$19.95 paperback

Reviewed by Agnes Dee

He Trots The Air is the second book in a series of Connie Holt mysteries. Connie is a quick-witted insurance investigator, for the McCutcheon Equine Insurance Company.

The ‘farms’ of Albemarle county may be stately, the owners supporting the careers of many, and the cars and horses, expensive. And a bad turn with a racehorse can cause all the wealth involved to slip through an owner’s fingers.

Sometimes an owner feels that he’d be better off claiming the insurance on a horse that has had an ‘accident’. Connie has seen such attempts. So has Cary McCutcheon, a good friend of hers, who may have made a few enemies when he confronted unscrupulous  racehorse owners at the McCutcheon’s farm and stables.

Connie has found that someone may be seeking revenge, by drugging Darkling Lord, a promising horse owned by her friend. She also reconciles with Tony Stephens, a man who in, “Three Dead Horses” (the first book in the series), admits both his guilt, and his love for Connie.

Will Connie find out who is behind the plot to drug Cary’s horse, and will they be able to stop it?

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION
I have a material connection because I received a review copy that I can keep for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was not expected to return this item after my review.

Sometimes a Great Commotion

Carolyn J. Rose & Mike Nettleton

Krill Press

ISBN 978 0 9821443 6 7

$17.95 CA, $15.95 US

301 pages

Reviewed by Amanda Capper

Using the same bevy of captivating characters they introduced us to in The Big Grabowski, Rose and Nettleton have created a second riotous Devil’s Harbor Mystery for what must be an ever expanding fan base. For those readers who have yet to meet the strangely endearing inhabitants of this coastal community, spend some time over the Christmas holidays getting to know them by putting these two books on your wish list. You won’t regret it.

Crab cakes have never been so funny, or so pious. Lechery has never been so organic, and sewage has certainly never been so suspenseful.

Flocks of tourists inundate Devil’s Harbor to kneel before a frozen, chosen crab cake, inadvertently causing Henri Trevelle, the colourful Canadian ex-hockey player turned mayor, to have heart palpitations because of a soon-to-spew-sewage treatment system. A dirty-minded hypocritical environmentalist ends up dead, just to add to the mayor’s misery, and at least five of Devil’s Harbor’s leading citizens are suspects. To the dismay of Molly Donovan, the town reporter, and Greg Erdman, town sheriff, the list of motives and suspects is long, and ultimately winding, but it must be solved before the sewage hits the fan.

There is a lot going on in Sometimes a Great Commotion, and it could have been a cumbersome read, except for the deft handling by the authors. The characters are unique, the action neatly choreographed and the writing is just plain funny.

Copyright @ 2010 Amanda Capper

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION

I have a material connection because I received a review copy that I can keep for consideration in preparing to write this content.  I was not expected to return this item after my review.

Dying Scream

by Mary Burton

Zebra Books
ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-0028-0

Paperback, 379 pages
Price 6.99

Reviewed by Gray Bridges

Mary Burton is a master storyteller unrivaled in the crime drama genre. The book is graphic and explicit. CSI and the A&E Channel watchers will love this author’s work—as there is blood and gore aplenty. Adding to the read is Burton’s ability to realistically peek into the mind of a serial killer. As with Showtime’s Dexter series, this insight is both fascinating and disturbing. Unlike Dexter, the reader has neither empathy for the killer nor knowledge of the killer’s identity. Trying to figure who-done-it keeps the pages turning.

The book opens with the killer watching one of his favorite movies… a slasher written, produced and starring him and one of his victims. All his “stars” have the same look—the look of the protagonist, Adrianna Barrington. And the killer is about to start casting for his next picture.

Adrianna married into one of the most socially established old-money families in Virginia. However, after a car crash that leaves her husband, Craig Thornton, in a vegetative state for several years before his death (side bar: some find the circumstances surrounding his death a bit on the questionable side,) Adrianna discovers that what little actual money was left is now beyond gone. She’s in serious debt and opts to sell the historic Thornton estate to a developer—a decision does not sit well with most of the community. Anonymous cards and flowers begin arriving on Adrianna’s doorstep. The creepy part is… they’re signed “love, Craig.”

The suspense builds when an unidentified body is discovered in the family cemetery, and it turns out Craig not only knew the dead woman—but two other victims, as well. Adrianna’s old flame, sexy Detective Gage Hudson, shows up to investigate.

Who is committing these heinous murders? Will Adrianna be the next victim? Can Gage save her in time? Dying Scream is full of twists, turns and surprises that keep you guessing until the end.

Copyright ©2009 Gray Bridges

Five Star
ISBN 978-1-59414-776-0

Reviewed by Marlene Pyle

If I had only three words to review this book, they would be “What a gem!” Fortunately, I’m not limited to just one phrase. In reviewing novels, you end up reading some books that are just so-so. They are enjoyable, but you find yourself thinking of ways that they could be improved. With Lynda Fitzgerald’s Of Words & Music I wouldn’t change a thing.

I would put Ms. Fitzgerald on the level of some of my favorite authors, such as Anita Shreve, Elizabeth Berg and Anne Tyler. In fact, I’ve already bought her earlier novel, which is unusual for me. As a reviewer, I get so many books sent to me, I rarely purchase them any more. I imagine some editor at Five Star was going through a stack of manuscripts, most of which were mediocre at best, despairing of finding anything worth publishing, when she picked this one up and was pleasantly surprised.

Of Words & Music is the story of a 60 year old widow named Lilah, who lives in Atlanta. She has been estranged from her daughter, Elizabeth, for fourteen years. When Elizabeth is killed in a car accident, Lilah is surprised and distressed to learn that she has a 12 year old granddaughter, a child she has never met, who is now orphaned with no where else to go. Lilah agrees to take the child in temporarily, but she is not happy about the situation and has no intention of making it permanent. But then, as John Lennon said, “Life is what happens while we are making other plans.”

Ms. Fitzgerald’s insight into people’s emotions is spot on. Her characters are not one dimensional. Life is made up of shades of gray, and so are the characters in this novel. No one is all good or all bad. No one is exactly what they seem to be at first glance. But the reader is shown their motivations, their fears and their hopes, so that they seem so real I almost wanted to go to Atlanta to meet Lilah.

If you buy only one novel this year, it should be this one.

Copyright ©2009 Marlene Pyle